Cops: Riverhead sex offenders 100% in registration compliance

FILE PHOTO | A police operation found that all 19 of Riverhead Town’s registered sex offenders were in compliance with state registration law.

A police operation last month involving Suffolk County police detectives, numerous East End town police and U.S. marshals has found that all 19 registered sex offenders living in Riverhead are in compliance with state law regarding reporting of their residences, Riverhead police said.

The undertaking, dubbed “Operation Lighthouse,” checked in on 60 sex offenders across Riverhead, Southampton, Southold, and East Hampton to make sure they were correctly registered to their homes as required by the New York State Registry Act, officials said.

The operation began the morning of July 9, when officers knocked on doors of registered sex offenders’ houses between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. to ensure they lived at that location, police said.

“When we knock on the door, you should be there,” said Riverhead Sgt. Joseph Loggia.

The operation lasted until July 13 and spanned across the East End, officials said.

“We all worked together,” Sgt. Loggia said. “We were all in each others jurisdictions checking [sex offenders].”

All of Riverhead Town’s 19 registered sex offenders were found to be in compliance with the law, police said. The sex offender trailers in Riverside are not within Riverhead Town Police’s jurisdiction, Sgt. Loggia said.

Of the 60 sex offenders who were investigated, five were found to be not in compliance, police said. They were located, arrested and face charges from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, according to the statement.

The identity of those sex offenders, as well as their places of residence, was not immediately available.

“We know that the population of the East End can more than double during the summer months and we want to make sure we are doing everything possible to keep our children safe,” said Charles Dunne, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of New York.

Sgt. Loggia said the Riverhead police department takes part in operations each year to ensure sex offenders follow the law, and that another annual operation is planned for this fall.